TAG: The Middle East
One might be forgiven for taking a look at global headlines in early 2019 and wanting to dive quickly beneath the covers. Indeed, the Western world has started the year exactly where it left off in 2018.
Although the global economy is in the midst of some challenging times, 82% of C-level executives who participated in the 2019 Business Barometer: Saudi Arabia CEO Survey believe that the Vision 2030 policy reforms will be successful or very successful in achieving medium- to long-term goals. Furthermore, manufacturing is indicated as the sector most likely to drive non-oil economic growth in the short to medium term, representing 15% of total responses. The optimism is carefully gauged, however, with 65% of business leaders citing regional political volatility as the top external event that could impact the economy.
It has been a remarkable few years for Qatar, with the resilience of its economy put to the test not only by the rapid fall in commodity prices that took place from June 2014, but also, and far more significantly, by the political and economic embargo that was imposed on the country in June 2017. While securing new suppliers of basic goods as supermarket shelves emptied in the hours following the embargo was the most pressing concern for the authorities, the more difficult task of reassuring international investors that the country was still a safe bet required longer-term efforts.
It is in light of this that OBG is delighted to publish the results of its OBG Business Barometer: Qatar CEO Survey for 2019, with the results drawn from interviews conducted with over 100 of the country’s top CEOs.